tag: squash

I know you’re all sick of pumpkin recipes by now, and you’re probably saving your last bit of pumpkin tolerance for that pie at the Thanksgiving table next week, but I have something a bit on the left end of the pumpkin spectrum for you today. Something savory and warm that doesn’t get mixed with brown sugar or topped with pecans.

I know pumpkin shrimp curry sounds weird, but it totally works. The sweetness of the pumpkin melds with the curry powder and cumin to make a warm, slightly spicy sauce that doesn’t remind you of pumpkin pie at all. Serve it over steamed whole grains for a comforting, substantial, seasonal dinner.

This is one of the appetizers (besides the copious charcuterie and cheese) that I served at our last little get-together.

It’s simple, seasonal, and extremely flavorful — the sweet butternuts squash is accentuated by the chile-infused honey and the crispiness of the puff pastry is mirrored by that of the sage. When I made it, I used an entire bird’s-eye chile and found it a bit too spicy — I’ve scaled that down to 1/2 a chile here to rein it in a bit.

And the phyllo party continues chez moi. Part of my faceplant into fall is my obsession with orange vegetables: sweet potatoes, pumpkins, and butternut squash.

I found fresh sage at my greengrocer’s last week. I’d never worked with sage before — it’s not an herb that was easily found in LA markets, and I didn’t plant any in my herb box here. Besides, the slight fuzziness of the leaves freaked me out a little bit. But I sniffed the bunch of leaves and was immediately transported to the land of nutty warm fall dishes and… breakfast sausage? Well, sage is the main herb in American breakfast sausage, so no wonder.

Butternut squash is aptly named. With the creaminess of butter and a subtle earthiness along with a sweetness that’s magnified when the squash is roasted, it’s perfect paired with a tangy goat cheese. With bits of walnuts for crunch, these little phyllo pockets were filling and well-balanced snack.